Bananas at risk

湖北十堰市东风高级中学 王世成

题材自然 新闻报道体裁 篇幅 建议用时392词 7分钟

难词探意

1.fungus /'fʌŋɡəs/ n.真菌

2.vulnerable /'vʌlnərəbl/ adj.易受伤的

3.tropical /'trɒpɪkl/ adj.热带的

4.resistant /rɪ'zɪstənt/ adj.有抵抗力的

Bananas are one of the most important crops on Earth.According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 400 million people rely on bananas as a source of food or income.But the bananas we know and love may be at risk of extinction.

Around the world, banana plants are dying at an al arming rate.They are being attacked by a form of Panama disease called Tropical Race 4 (TR4).Farmers, experts, and industry leaders had feared the day when TR4 would hit Latin America and the Caribbean.About 85% of bananas exported worldwide are grown there.On August 8, 2019, those fears came true.Colombia declared a national emergency as cases of TR4 were confirmed at six banana farms in the country.“In Colombia, TR4 is incredibly difficult to control,” scientist James Dale said.“Everybody is absolutely frightened of what's going to happen.”

TR4 is afungusthat lives in soil.It infects banana plants through the roots and moves into the stems.There, it prevents water and nutrients from reaching the plant's leaves.The plant turns yellow, and then it dries up and dies.It can take six months to a year for farmers to spot TR4 in a field of banana plants.By then, it's hard to treat the disease.Farmers can only try to keep it from spreading.But TR4 spreads easily from plant to plant and from farm to farm.“With increased human transportation, travel and trade, no country is immune to the disease,” Fazil Dusunceli of the FAO said.Part of the problem is that 99% of bananas exported are of the same variety: Cavendish.This is helpful for the banana industry.Large companies can grow more bananas when they grow only one kind,which means they can make more money.But a lack of diversity is not good for nature.All Cavendish bananas are genetically the same.Because of this, when a disease such as TR4 strikes, they are all equallyvulnerable.

People in the banana industry are coming together to try to save thetropicalfruit.James Dale,for example, is working with a team of scientists in Australia to introduce a new variety of banana that'sresistantto TR4.But some people are against creating new types of plants in a lab.They say people shouldn't mess with nature.

Reading Check

1.What is the first paragraph about?

A.The crops on Earth. B.The importance of bananas.

C.The forms of food source. D.The popularity of bananas.

2.What can be inferred about TR4 from the text?

A.It exists in soil. B.It is easy to control.

C.It spreads at a slow speed. D.It infects banana plants through the leaves.

3.Which can be a solution to the banana crisis in the text?

A.Expanding the land for banana plants.

B.Focusing on one kind of banana plant.

C.Increasing the types of banana plants.

D.Improving the soil quality for banana plants.

Language Study

Sentence for writing

There, it prevents water and nutrients from reaching the plant's leaves.在那里，它阻止水分和养分到达植物的叶子部分。

【信息提取】prevent...from doing...意为“阻止……”。

【句式仿写】什么也不能阻止他鸣不平。 （speak out against injustice 鸣不平）_